“Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.” -Psalm 104
Today is Pentecost Sunday, the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today we call to mind the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord. These gifts are graciously given to us by our Lord, but they are not given to be kept to ourselves, they are to be used and shared. Are we willing to share these gifts? Maybe we are, but not sure how. The Church has given us the gift of the New Evangelization- a time when we are really encouraged to not only witness to our Catholic Faith, but to invite others to accompany us along the journey to sainthood. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit are we able to do this. The same Holy Spirit that came upon the Apostles is with us and invites us to renew and deepen our commitment to live the message of the Gospel and to enter into an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
“To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” - 1 Corinthians 12:7.
Each individual is unique and blessed with different gifts, talents, personalities, desires, forms of service and workings. Your gifts are different than mine and that’s a good thing! The Lord made each of us unique for a reason and we each live out our vocational call and call to holiness by responding “Yes” to the Lord, to become the person he made us to be, to become the best version of ourselves. Often times our culture seems to tell us we all need to be like someone else, to look up to family members, celebrities or other influencers in our lives and be like them. While it is important to look up to role models, especially the example set by our ultimate role models- the Saints - we must remember that God did not create me to be the exact same as St. Therese of Lisieux or Mother Teresa of Calcutta or St. Matthew or St. Francis of Assisi. We must remember that God is calling you to be you, not someone else. That is what is beautiful about the Catholic faith; we are all made in the same image- the image and likeness of God. We all come from the same Spirit, the Holy Spirit, yet we are all unique and live out our call to holiness differently, just like the Saints. That’s what made them Saints- they become the best version of themselves, who God was calling them to be. Who is God calling you to be? Are you becoming the best version of yourself? The Holy Spirit is alive in each one of us, as sons and daughters of God we are led by the Spirit if we only allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, if we give God the time in prayer to listen to where he is calling us.
“If you don’t become the saint you were created to be, you can’t play your part in God’s plan for salvation. If you don’t play your part in God’s plan for salvation, it won’t get played. If your part doesn’t get played, I assure you, souls may be lost! Saint Peter tells us that the goal of our faith is the salvation of souls.” - John R. Wood in Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Mission
Lord, today help us to “Receive the Holy Spirit” –John 20:22. Grant us the gifts of the Holy Spirit, that we may live out our call to holiness, share these gifts and become the Saints we are created to be.
